Door pivot means



A ril 24, 1962 J. RUDNICK DOOR PIVOT MEANS Filed Sept. 11, 1957 INVENTOR Jack Vac/flick M ATTORNEY tas The present invention relates to a vertically adjustable door pivot means and more particularly those adapted for folding doors and especially those folding doors which are adaptable for clothing closets and the like. The problem of pivotably suspending folding doors in such a fashion as to enable their adjustment in height is one which has attracted much effort and resulted in various types of structures. Unfortunately, most of the structures. developed have been cumbersome in the sense that they are difficult to adjust and expensive and complicated since they entail the assembly of many parts, some of them quite intricate.

An object of the present invention is to provide means to pivotably mount a folding-door or the like in such atent 3,93%,655 Patented Apr. 24, 1962 ticularly useful when no saddle is employed and the mounting of the pivoting means is mounted directly to the floor.

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of said second embodiment said stepped mounting plate being shown in section as along line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 0 FIG. 3.

Referring to the form shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 6, the present invention includes a mounting plate 10 affixed by screws 11 to a saddle 12 which in turn is affixed over floor 13, said saddle having a cylindrical bore 14. A hollow flanged fitting 15 having an upper collar 15a which fits within a bore 40 in mounting plate 10 is attached to the bottom of mounting plate 10 by rivets 16 and has an unthreaded depending sleeve or shank portion 17 which extends into bore 14. Said'shank serves fashion as to enable convenient and simple vertical adferred form by providing a mounting plate having an aperture therein which may, for example, be aflixed to a door saddle, the aperture being coaxial with a cylindrical bore in the saddle and the mounting plate having a depending hollow flanged fitting aflixed thereto coaxial with said aperture and extending into said bore, there being a set screw extending inwardly of an inner wall in the depending portion of said fitting, a hollow cylindrical bearing screw being slideably positioned Within said depending portion of said flange, said screw having a lateral lon itudinally extending flatted portion thereof which bears against said set screw so as to prevent the rotation of said screw relative said flange and mounting plate, and a nut screwed about said screw so that the bottom portion thereof contacts the top of said mounting plate so that as said nut is rotated said screw is displaced vertically, and a pivot pin aflixed to the bottom of a folding door, said pin being insertable in the uppermost opening in said bearing screw. Hence, as said screw is displaced vertically, said door pivoted thereon by means of said pivot pin is likewise displaced vertically.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of the present invention may be had by referring to the following detailed description and claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments thereof, it being understood that the foregoing statement of the objects of the invention and the brief summary thereof is intended to generally explain the same without limiting it in any manner.

In the accompanying drawing:

FIG. 1 is an exploded view in perspective of a vertically adjustable pivot assembly embodying the present invention and suitable for mounting to a saddle underlying a door.

FIG. 2 is a plan View of such assembly mounted upon a saddle together with a door mounted thereon, a portion of a door jamb being shown.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view thereof taken along line 33 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a view of a stepped mounting plate for use in connection with a second embodiment thereof, paras a guide for a hollow bearing screw 18 which is held slideably mounted Within said shank bya matching adjustrnent nut 19. Bearingscrew 18 has a longitudinally extending flatted portion 20 at thebottom of which there is formed a horizontally extending step 21. In a threaded aperture 22 in shank 17 there is positioned a set screw 23, the inner end of which abuts against, without binding, flatted portion 20 of screw 18, thus permitting the vertical travel of screw 18 but preventing the rotation thereof along its longitudinal axis.

Step 21 serves as a detent to prevent the vertical upward travel of screw 18 beyond the position wherein step 21 engages set screw 23. A door 24 is secured to a channel-shaped door support 25 from the lower portion of which there depends a pivot pin 26, said pivot pin being dimensioned to fit within and being positioned within the aperture in the upper portion of bearing screw 18, the upper end of said screw and the confronting lower surfaces of door support 25 comprising the bearing surfaces pin 26, a similar pivot pin 28 journalled in a socket 29 which is secured within a bore, in a support member 30, coaxial with bore 14.

Using the means disclosed a folding door is very simply and accurately positioned within its frame. Thus, bore 14 is first made in saddle 12 and if desired, a larger bore 31 may be superimposed upon the top portion of bore 14, coaxial therewith, so as to permit the positioning of mounting plate 10 flat upon the surface of said saddle, flange fitting 15 lying within'said bores and screws 11 securing said mounting plate thereto. If it is so desired, elongated apertures 32 in mounting plate 10 may be employed to temporarily mount said plate to said saddle so as to be horizontally adjustable parallel with a side structure such as door jamb 33. Door 24 may then be swiftly and easily positioned by inserting pivot pins 26 and 28 in bearing screw 18 and socket 29 respectively. The door may then be adjusted vertically by rotating nut 19. Since bearing screw 20 is held from rotating relative to mounting plate 10 and nut 19 by means of the engagement of the inner end of set screw 23 with the fiatted portion 20 of said screw, the adjustment in height, once made, will not be disturbed when the door is pivoted upon its mount.

A second embodiment which is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is employed wherein the door opening is not bordered on the bottom by a saddle but by the floor. In such case, in lieu of mounting plate 10 there is employed a stepped mounting plate 34 comprising two horizontal panels 35 3 the like, all being identical with the'form previously described.

The mounting of a door when employing this embodiment of the invention, is self-evident. I

' Of course, many variations may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example,

bearing screw 18 need not be hollow completely along its length, but may bear a depression only in its upper end to form a bearing for pivot pin 26. Again, a flanged fitting is not essential ifthe aperture 49 in mounting plate 10 is shaped in a manner corresponding to the crosssection of bearing screw 18 as shown in FIG. 6, since in some forms of the present invention in which the sup" that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example and that numerous variations may be employed without transcending the'scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is: Door pivot means to enable the vertical positioning of a door relative to the floor to which it is pivotably connected by means including a pivot pin comprising a mounting plate horizontally connected to a floor, said plate having an aperture therein, a sleeve fixedly connected to said plate and extending vertically normally downward therefrom, said sleeve being coaxial with said aperture, a bearing screw mounted for reciprocable vertical travel within said sleeve, and extending. on either side thereof, the upper end of said screw being recessed to form a bearing socket dimensioned to receive said pivot pin, a nut screwed about said bearing screw above said plate, said screw having a longitudinally-extending external flattened portion, and detent means connected to said sleeve and abutting against said flattened portion of said screw to prevent rotation. thereof relative to said plate,twhereby as said nut is rotated said bearing screw and said door pivoted thereon are vertically displaced relative to said mounting plate and the floor to which said plate is connected, the upper end of said screw being recessed to a distance greater than the length of said pivot pin whereby said door bears upon the upper Surface of g 20 said screw.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED S ATES PATENTS 25 1,719,638 White. July 2, 1929 FOREIGN PATENTS 15,640 Great Britain of 1914 

